Life of Dar
by Fleabitten Frellnick
Summary: What happened to Dar after the credits rolled on the original "Beastmaster"?


Name: Life of Dar  
  
Author: Fleabitten Frellnick  
  
Created: December 1, 2003  
  
This is my first work of "fiction", so be nice please.  
  
It's not so much a story as it is a 'stream of thought' thing. Let's see if I can put this together…..  
  
I go through these phases with movies; I'll suddenly become obsessed with a particular one and then over the course of a month I might watch it four or five times. That's where this little piece of work came from: I found it necessary to purge myself of the 'what the heck happened to Dar' obsession which was causing me to lose sleep.   
  
One of my favorite quotes regarding the original movie 'The Beastmaster' is this one:  
  
"As Dar heads for revenge, he starts collecting his furry and/or feathered entourage; had the trip been much longer, he could have entered the city disguised as a circus." Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 8/25/82.  
  
And what a fine lookin' circus it would have been, too!  
  
I'm not really sure exactly *why* I love that quote – it just seems to hit all the right buttons regarding this movie, I guess.  
  
Why is it that this movie has become a cult favorite?  
  
Because the location is beautiful. That doesn't mean that the location matches the long shots. The outer shots show Aruk in a valley, but the inner shots show Aruk on top of a mesa. Dar lives in a strange world where the landscape changes at the drop of a hat.  
  
Because Dar is a Nice Guy. He's outraged by human sacrifice, he's outraged by the murder of children, and he's outraged enough to try to do something about it. The animals like him, listen to him and follow him because he's a Nice Guy. He's not a pig. He Does The Right Thing.  
  
Because even though Dar is wall-to-wall muscle, he has the grace and flexibility to actually survive a sword fight with relative ease. In other words, Dar is not a muscle-bound lump of walking flesh, unable to make the moves necessary to defeat an opponent.   
  
No, it's not a perfect movie, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to watch.   
  
Okay, on to this little mess of mine. First you get a straight-line overview of the first movie (until you get to where they rescue Zed, then I had to put my 2 cents in), and then after the overview is my little stream of thought thing while I work out what *I* think the rest of Dar's life would be like.   
  
As far as I'm concerned, the 2 movie sequels and the series never actually happened. I'm sorry, I just can't go there.   
  
No copyright infringement is intended, I'm just borrowing Dar for a while so don't sue me – the only thing I have of value is my typing skill.  
  
Feedback would be nice, thanks.  
  
************** Overview for the uninformed *******************  
  
Maax, the high priest of the religion that worships the god Ar, was told by his three witch women that he would die at the hands of King Zed's unborn son. Zed's son must be cut from his mother, branded with the symbol of the temple of Ar and killed.   
  
Maax was stupid enough to tell Zed of this prophecy. Maax was also stupid enough to actually be surprised when King Zed banished him from the city of Aruk to live with the Jun Horde. What an Idiot.  
  
Maax's witch women decided to solve the whole problem by taking a cow to the Kings bedchamber and, using magic, transferred the baby from Zed's wife (killing her in the process) to the cow.   
  
One of the witch women took the cow out of the city, then cut the baby from the cow. She branded the baby's palm with the symbol of the temple of Ar and was prepared to sacrifice him when she was killed by a guy wandering by, who took the baby and named him Dar.  
  
Dar is the unborn son of Zed, King of the city of Aruk.   
  
Dar's savior took him to his own home, the village of Emir, where Dar was welcomed and raised as one of their own.   
  
I'm certain that Dar's adopted father told him of his unusual entry into his world. We know that he did tell Dar that if anything should happen to him, Dar should look for his destiny in the valley of Aruk.   
  
Dar grew to become a fine young man, learning in the process that he had a special gift with animals – he could read their thoughts just as they could read his.  
  
Dar's adopted family and village were wiped out when the Jun Horde invaded the village. Dar was saved by his dog Kodo. Kodo dragged Dar out of the village to a place of safety, shot with an arrow and dying in the process.  
  
Dar swore revenge on the Jun Horde and left his home. During his adventures he joins forces with Sharrak the eagle, Ruh the tiger, and Kodo & Podo, the ferrets.   
  
He meets Kiri, a slave girl who he seems to think he is in love with; she promptly disappears.   
  
Dar then runs into the bird people, who eat the flesh from any prey, even humans. Dar's special link with Sharrak saves him from being their midnight snack and creates a link between Dar and the bird people. They give him a medallion, in essence a token of their alliance and an unspoken suggestion that he send Sharrak with the medallion if he ever needs help.  
  
Dar wanders into the city of Aruk in the middle of a religious ceremony. He and Sharrak save a young girl from sacrifice. She is the daughter of Sako, a resident of the city and a self-styled coward. He may claim he's a coward, but Sharrak later talks Sako into helping the cause anyway.  
  
It seems that while Dar was growing up, Maax returned to Aruk with his buddies the Jun Horde, imprisoned Zed and took over the city. The children of Aruk became Maax's sacrificial goldmine.  
  
Dar also teams up with Seth, who used to be one of King Zed's guards and Tal, Zed's son. Besides the King, Seth is the only one alive of the Good Guys who knows the specifications of the prophecy. Seth was in the chamber when Maax proved himself to be a complete idiot.  
  
Together they rescue Kiri from the Juns then Seth leaves in search of rebels to help reclaim Aruk. Kiri, Dar and Tal rescue the King. Seth finds a pretty motley group. The King has completely lost his mind and even though Maax has discovered their plan Zed will not back down. When Dar speaks out against the King, Zed orders Dar out, calling him a 'freak who speaks to animals' and a coward. No-one will stand up to the King, so Dar leaves.   
  
Zed had been tortured and blinded during his imprisonment. We could try to excuse him for his intolerance by reason of insanity, however I choose not to. Seth and Kiri would not speak against Zed at the meeting which tells me that Zed wasn't inclined to listen to anyone even *before* his imprisonment. Zed is Not A Nice Guy. At the very least, he's not a Wise King. Two idiots, going after each other in the same city. Scaaarey.  
  
Dar was better off growing up in Emir. Dar's life experience has made him more of a man than his biological father would *ever* be.  
  
Their plan, of course, fails. Sako shows up to tell Dar of the tragedy and Dar goes off to save Kiri. Dar rides into the city, through the crowd to the pyramid, sending the ferrets to free Seth and Tal who take out the ground level guards and hold the bottom of the pyramid.   
  
Dar battles his way to the top of the pyramid to find Kiri unconscious on the sacrificial stone and Maax holding a knife to King Zed's throat. "Your unborn son has returned to fulfill the prophecy" he tells the King.   
  
The look on Dar's face when Maax told the King that his unborn son had returned is priceless. Surprise, then shock, then understanding, then naked fear in his eyes, as he lay down his sword in a desperate attempt to save the King.   
  
King Zed had insulted him, driven him away, called him a coward and insisted he was useless; yet Dar lays down his weapon while surrounded by enemies in an effort to save the man who first sired him, then insulted and ridiculed him. Dar is a Nice Guy.   
  
Dar's selfless act is unfortunately a useless gesture. The King is killed anyway, gutted by Maax with a dagger.  
  
Dar has become the only thing that stands between Maax's Jun Horde and the city of Aruk.  
  
Dar kills Maax, losing a ferret in the process, then enlists the help of the bird people to defeat the Jun Horde.  
  
************ End of overview for the uninformed **************  
  
King Zed, that rat-bastard of a father and a piss-poor King died too soon. It would have been nice to see his bigotry and small-mindedness shoved down his wrinkled throat.   
  
Sideways.  
  
The really sad thing is that even as Zed died he still did not know that the 'freak' he'd so richly insulted was his firstborn and heir to his Kingdom. He knew that his son had returned, but *not* *who* *his* *son* *was*.   
  
Dar was a son that a sane Zed would have been proud of. The son that would return control of Aruk back to it's people. A son that, with the command of a Kingdom in his hands would turn down the rule of that Kingdom (and the power that comes with Kingship) and continue on with his life, uninterested in power or glory.   
  
King Zed was a fool. It's no wonder he lost his Kingdom and finally his life to a lunatic like Maax.  
  
But, what happens to Dar after the credits roll?  
  
Once Dar has destroyed Maax and the Jun Horde, the 'revenge' phase of his life is over. What would Dar do with the rest of his life?  
  
He's not a 'barbarian'; that word to me always evokes visions of raping and pillaging, and he doesn't do that, he's a nice guy.   
  
He could become a mercenary, a man for hire, but I don't see that either.   
  
I don't see him staying in Aruk. How would you keep a black tiger happy in a walled city?  
  
What about Kiri, would she go with him? I don't see that happening, with her so loyal to her family. And no, I don't think he and Kiri are related. Tal and Dar are half-brothers. Kiri is Tals' cousin, probably on Tals' mother's side. Dar's mother is dead. Kiri would stay to help Tal.  
  
Would Dar wander the land alone, with only his animals for company, or would he try to hook up with a group?   
  
I think that he would wander the lands, for a while anyway, meeting up with different people and having different adventures. Dar would eventually wander back to Aruk to make sure his half brother was okay.   
  
Aruk would have grown, and so would have Dar's legend. Dar would be welcomed as the hero he is, possibly replacing Seth as Tal's right hand man.   
  
No, that's not right. Dar would not replace Seth. Dar would be bored with all the trappings of the day-to-day operations of a Kingdom. Dar would leave again because the question still remains: how would you keep a black tiger happy in a walled city?   
  
What about Dar's unique abilities? Are they a change in his genetic makeup, or are they a singularity, not to be passed down through the generations?   
  
In my world of Dar it would be a genetic change, but NOT caused by the unusual manner of his birth. Because my world of Dar is not our Earth. It's Someplace Else.  
  
Dar would not be the only one with these 'unique' abilities. As Dar wanders, he would discover others with these abilities. Women, Men, Children. All with their own unique bond animals, from the glorious to the mundane. Word would spread. Some of these people would leave their cities and begin to group together.   
  
Dar would 'settle' somewhere between the city of Aruk and the bird people. We'll call his settlement a 'holding' for lack of a better term. These people with talent would follow him. The bird people, who had returned their medallion to Dar at the battle of Aruk would extend their alliance to Dar's people.   
  
Dars' holding would not be walled – it would be a loose gathering of houses and farms, governed over by a council.   
  
Dar is, after all, royalty, though only he, Seth and Tal actually know that. Dar would not be 'King', though the people would want him to be and would look to him as a figurehead for their council. Dar has no interest in ruling; though when circumstances warrant it he takes command and is quite good at it. Dar is a natural leader and his acceptance would draw people to him.   
  
Even people without the animal talent would find their way to Dars' holding, unhappy in their former cities and lives. Marriages of people with and without talent would occur, keeping the genetics diverse. Some would leave, some would stay; all would be changed by their time in Dars' holding.  
  
During his wanderings, Dar (who at one time thought that Kiri was the love of his life) would find a woman who was at times both his equal and his better, as he would be to her. She would not have the same talent. Hers would be a different talent, complimentary to his. She would not be someone he would have looked at twice.   
  
Theirs would be one Hell of a courtship, begun in an offhand way. They would meet on a street, or in a stable, or in a farm field somewhere. She probably insulted him. He would take an almost instant dislike to her. Ruh liked her though, and wouldn't leave Dar alone about her. And thus would begin an at times frustrating and very satisfying courtship, because they each gave as good as they got, in *all* ways. Their children would be born with both talents, creating a new generation.   
  
Sharrak would wander off from time to time, but only when there was peace; she had her own interests too and wanted birdie babies. Some of her babies would come to Dar's holding and bond with people there. In the twilight of her life Sharrak would hatch her last and greatest baby, who would become her first successor. Sharrak would die in Dar's arms after stopping a poisoned dart meant for him.   
  
The shooter of said dart would die well before Sharrak, ripped into very small pieces by Ruh. Outraged, the people would wish they could have helped Ruh with the disassembly. In this one instance, Dar would not be a Nice Guy. Dar would send the human remains to the bird people for their soup. Sharrak would be buried in a place of great honor. No one would attempt assassination again.  
  
Dar's people would provide goods to different Kingdoms, many types of goods from food to textiles. They would provide consulting services for ill animals and problems with predators. Eventually, the young adults of the people would be temporarily stationed at different Kingdoms, like attending college; learning of different cultures and discovering why their people formed their own holding; learning that their way was not the only way of life. Some would stray from Dar's holding but many would return; all would spread the legend of Dar. Dar and his people would be well known and respected for hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles.  
  
When Dar finally passed after a long and amazing life, the council would officially name their 'holding' the city of Dar (he wouldn't let them do it while he was alive). They had always been known as "Dar's People", so it would be an easy transition.   
  
The council would make one final decree before getting back to the business of running a very busy and profitable city: At each entrance to the city a stone statue would be placed. Each stone statue would be of a young man, well-muscled with shoulder-length hair and kind eyes. The leather straps that crossed his chest would hold a sword on his back and a pouch at his side. The palm of his right hand would rest on the shoulder of the black tiger that stood next to him and an eagle would rest on his left forearm.   
  
The base of each statue would be carved to read:  
  
Welcome   
  
to the city of Dar  
  
where everyone lives in freedom  
  
Enter with peace in your heart  
  
The legend of Dar would live on. 


End file.
